October 19, 2009

Blackhawks' Skille to remain in Rockford

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Monday that newcomer Andrew Ebbett has replaced Skille on the fourth line. Skille had been shuffling back and forth from the Hawks to Rockford of the AHL to save the team salary cap space, but he will not be recalled for Wednesday's game against the Vancouver Canucks .

"We have 12 forwards right now and Jack's not going to be here on Wednesday," Quenneville said.

Ebbett was claimed off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. The 26-year-old had eight goals and 24 assists last season with Anaheim and was scoreless in two games this season.

"[Ebbett's] a very useful player, our staff really likes the addition," Quenneville said. "Watching him in practice, I think he can really help us in a lot of ways. He can play center and he can play wing and he can make plays. I like the way he fit in."

Quenneville said he hasn't made a decision on who will be in goal against the Canucks. Cristobal Huet gave up two soft goals during the Hawks' 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday night while his backup, rookie Antti Niemi has had a strong start to the season.

"We'll make the decision [Tuesday]," Quenneville said. "We usually annouce it the day before and we'll do that."

I asked Quenneville if the fact he's still undecided is an indicator that he no longer has a clear cut No. 1 goaltender.

"You can speculate any way you want," Quenneville said. "We'll make that decision tomorrow."

Since he said to speculate, I believe I will. I think Niemi will begin to see more starts while Huet tries to get his game together and regain some confidence. In my opinion, Huet is still the long-term solution to the goalie dilemma. He has the skill and experience to turn things around. For now, though, Niemi is playing better and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in goal Wednesday night.

Huet's style is more dependent on initial positioning than other goaltenders in Chicago, who relied more on athleticism. The more that Huet is seen making photographic stops, the more likely that he is out of his game. His best games will appear to be somewhat minimalistic with the puck seeming to just hit him and then die. The less he does, the better he is. Two goals on Saturday were soft. I actually thought that the shot from beyond the circle was the worse of the two since it beat him on the short side with his glove not in the ready position. The puck stayed high, but he was up and should not have missed it. The fluke that was off of the glass is equivalent to someone fumbling the ball and then trying to recover it by picking it up and running with it rather than simple fall on it. Rather than block it, he tried to grab it as it took a strange bounce and missed it. His left pad should have been against the post and it wasn't.

I think that he's a very good goaltender and will eventually carry the team in tough games. Playing Niemi while Huet works things out makes good sense.

About this blog

I do remember the roar. And I remember my first Blackhawks game. I grew up in the western suburbs and my father took me to Chicago Stadium on Feb. 20, 1980 when Tony Esposito and the Hawks downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.

My most vivid memories of the night are Esposito taking a slap shot to the head and collapsing, sending the crowd of 9,322 into a stunned silence. After a few minutes the Hall of Fame goaltender stood up, received a standing ovation and finished the game.

It was also the night the United States Olympic hockey team defeated West Germany 4-2 en route to a meeting with the Soviet Union and an eventual gold medal. When the score was announced the crowd broke into a chant of "USA! USA!" How could I not get hooked on hockey?

I started working at the Tribune while still in high school at Hinsdale South and I've been a copy editor, page designer, high school sports editor and now a beat reporter for an Original Six team. What a strange trip, indeed.

There's no truth to the rumor I bought a condo in the West Loop so I can take the No. 20 bus to work, but it does help make the commute to the United Center rather short.